Anxiety continues to mount for Valtteri Bottas as his future hangs in the balance. Sauber—his current F1 team—has not renewed his contract for 2025. As time continues to run out, so do Bottas’ chances of being part of the traveling circus in 2025.
Sauber is set to be acquired by Audi, which has already signed Nico Hulkenberg for next season. Several drivers are in contention to be the German’s teammate, including Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto, and Bottas. However, the Finnish driver finds himself slipping out of the running with each passing day.
F1 expert Tim Hauraney feels that the Hinwil-based team should keep Bottas. “I think your best bet if you are Sauber is just to keep him there, just keep the consistency that you have with him,” he said on the Nailing the Apex podcast.
Hauraney believes that Bottas is not performing poorly for Sauber, despite having scored zero points so far this season.
The American former racing driver argued that Bottas is actually too good for the team, suggesting that Sauber’s lackluster performance has kept him from showcasing his true potential.
Another Spielberg masterpiece from @ValtteriBottas
Go onboard as he takes pole in Austria for the second straight year#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/kS3CVVFLrM
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2018
Bottas joined Sauber—formerly Alfa Romeo—in 2022 after five years at Mercedes, where he was accustomed to competing for podium finishes weekly. Things haven’t gone his way since, though not due to his own performances, as Hauraney pointed out.
But F1, being a cruel sport, won’t reward mediocrity, no matter whose fault it is, and Bottas spending three seasons at the back of the grid, has thrown him out of the shortlist for many teams, especially with new youngsters like Colapinto and Bortoleto coming up.
As such, if Sauber does not go ahead with what Hauraney suggested, Bottas could move back to Mercedes as a reserve driver—something he said he was okay with—before he finds a spot on the grid again.
On the other hand, if Sauber/Audi decides to take experience into account, there won’t be many choices better than Bottas.
Is Bottas the favorite to land the second Sauber/Audi seat?
With so many drivers in contention for the sole remaining seat on the 2025 grid, Bottas’ chances of receiving a contract renewal seem slim. However, as Hauraney suggested on the podcast, he continues to deliver strong performances for a team that currently lacks the pace to reach points-scoring positions.
The highest finish Bottas has achieved this season is 13th, while his teammate Zhou Guanyu has managed a best finish of 11th. However, Zhou seems to lack the consistency that the Finnish driver has shown throughout the 2024 campaign.
Moreover, as Sauber/Audi remains a backmarker team, they will need all the experience they can gather to develop their cars. With Bottas’ experience as part of a championship-winning team like Mercedes, he can bring valuable insights to the Swiss-based team.
